Novelty Currency

ABSTRACT

A novelty currency device for promoting the concept of worthlessness is provided. The novelty currency device comprises a piece of currency and an alteration impression for altering the currency. The alteration impression provides an implied message of a reduced inherent value.

The present application claims the benefit of priority of pending provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/816,182, filed on Apr. 26, 2013, entitled “Novelty Currency”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a novelty currency device and, more particularly, the invention relates to a novelty currency device taking advantage of two commonly used phrases, both associated with the concept of worthlessness, to drive home a message that stands in stark contrast to the cozy association of bribe and convenience endemic and implicit in disposable plastic promotional items.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Traditional marketing giveaways function on a simple utility principle. The more useful device a promoter can emblazon with their client's identifying logo and address information, the more likely targeted customers are to incorporate it into their daily lives. This type of placement can be expensive to attain in many customers' lives. Customers are, for the most part, conditioned to hoard many such promotional gimmicks, usually only developing sustained emotional attachments to those that provide a significant utility. A classic example of this set is the pen. Pens inscribed with business contact information are the next logical leap after the invention of the business card. They provide not just a contact reference, but also a much-used business functionality that promotes, in the user, the desire to retain possession of the object itself, for completely tangential purposes. From here, the menagerie of promotional ephemera has expanded to its currently bloated state, with all manner of injection-molded plastic items of questionable functionality distributed in an attempt to secure valuable real-estate in the user's home and mind for business promotion purposes.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a novelty currency device for promoting the concept of worthlessness. The novelty currency device comprises a piece of currency and an alteration impression for altering the currency. The alteration impression provides an implied message of a reduced inherent value.

In addition, the present invention includes a method for promoting the concept of worthlessness. The method comprises providing a piece of currency, altering the currency with an alteration impression, and providing an implied message of a reduced inherent value.

The present invention further includes a novelty currency device for promoting the concept of worthlessness. The novelty currency device comprises a penny having a red color and a nickel having a aperture. The penny and nickel provide an implied message of a reduced inherent value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a novelty currency device, constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the novelty currency device being a red cent; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the novelty currency device, constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the novelty currency device being a plugged nickel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a novelty currency device, indicated generally at 10, taking advantage of two commonly used phrases, both associated with the concept of worthlessness, to drive home a message that stands in stark contrast to the cozy association of bribe and convenience endemic and implicit in disposable plastic promotional items.

The novelty currency device 10 of the present invention consists of six cents worth of base materials. One piece consists of a regular American penny 12, which has been covered over with a bright red enamel paint, and can be further decorated with a stenciled logo or campaign-specific message. The other element is a regular American nickel 14, through which a round hole 16 has been bored. A small, circular plug 18 of rubber is inserted to fill the aperture 16, restoring the smooth face on the front and back of the coin 14. Together, the two pieces 12, 14 of the novelty currency device 10 can be easily affixed to the front of any marketing or campaigning literature with a simple, removable gum adhesive, making them ideal for direct mail campaigns or decoration on the front of distributable brochures, hand bills and fliers.

Materials adorned with the novelty currency device 10 of the present invention contains a brief missive on the history and popularity of the two phrases that inspired the creation of these models. This discussion provides a wonderful starting point from which to segue into a discussion of the importance of value and the worthlessness of one's competing products or candidates. This type of negative campaigning has proved effective in marketing spheres as disparate as political campaigning and financial services sales. The novelty currency device 10 provides a wonderful physical reinforcement of the concept, offering a great pair of objects that end users can easily remove from any marketing material and carry with them in the pocket or purse to further spread the message to other users.

Using the novelty currency device 10 of the present invention is remarkably simple. Once the two items have been constructed, they can be distributed as needed, either by post or handed out in person. Regardless of the distribution method chosen, it's important to provide a concise explanation of what they are and what they represent. In this manner, the public can be effectively educated as to the true value represented by the candidate, product or service being promoted. The relatively low cost of the materials involved in constructing the novelty currency device ensures that many hundreds or thousands of sets can be cheaply and easily given away, at very little cost to the promoter engaging in that specific marketing campaign. The customizable face of the currency ensures that the items remain tied into the campaign in question, even when removed from any supporting documentation or expository display cards.

As both of the elements in the novelty currency device 10 of the present invention are constructed from real, legal tender, average users will find the sets incredibly hard to throw away. Nobody wants to be accused of wasting money, after all. The significant surface alterations to the coins also ensure that they cannot be easily spent, and the upshot of these paired restrictions is that most users who receive a free currency set will hold on to it, allowing it to continue building its helpful psychological associations in their minds long after the time when whatever handbill was distributed with them has been disposed.

The novelty currency device 10 of the present invention offers significant advantages over more traditional, disposable forms of advertising aimed and conveying the concept of true, value. The low cost of production ensures that wide-reaching campaigns targeting tens or hundreds of thousands of voters or potential customers are relatively cheap to execute. The inherent value of the objects being distributed, on the other hand, provides a virtual guarantee that any potential adherent to the cause will keep the items with them and possibly even push the message further, indoctrinating his or her friends and family into whatever concepts that the coins represent.

The foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawings and described in detail, with varying modifications and alternative embodiments being taught. While the invention has been so shown, described and illustrated, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the claims except as precluded by the prior art. Moreover, the invention as disclosed herein may be suitably practiced in the absence of the specific elements which are disclosed herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A novelty currency device for promoting the concept of worthlessness, the novelty currency device comprising: a piece of currency; and an alteration impression for altering the currency; wherein the alteration impression provides an implied message of a reduced inherent value.
 2. The novelty currency device of claim 1 wherein the alteration impression is color.
 3. The novelty currency device of claim 2 wherein the piece of currency is a penny having a red color.
 4. The novelty currency device of claim 3 wherein the red color is a bright red enamel paint.
 5. The novelty currency device of claim 1 wherein the alteration impression is an aperture formed in the piece of currency.
 6. The novelty currency device of claim 5 wherein the piece of currency is a nickel having an aperture.
 7. The novelty currency device of claim 6 wherein the aperture is formed in an approximate center of the nickel.
 8. The novelty currency device of claim 5 and further comprising: a circular plug inserted into the aperture, the circular plug restoring a smooth face on a front and back surface of the currency.
 9. The novelty currency device of claim 1 and further comprising: a stenciled message written on the currency.
 10. The novelty currency device of claim 9 wherein the stenciled message provides a written message of a reduced inherent value.
 11. The novelty currency device of claim 1 and further comprising: a marketing or campaigning literature; wherein the currency is secured to the marketing or campaigning literature with a removable gum adhesive.
 12. A method for promoting the concept of worthlessness, the method comprising: providing a piece of currency; altering the currency with an alteration impression; and providing an implied message of a reduced inherent value.
 13. A novelty currency device for promoting the concept of worthlessness, the novelty currency device comprising: a penny having a red color; and a nickel having a aperture; wherein the penny and nickel provide an implied message of a reduced inherent value.
 14. The novelty currency device of claim 13 wherein the red color is a bright red enamel paint.
 15. The novelty currency device of claim 13 wherein the aperture is formed in an approximate center of the nickel.
 16. The novelty currency device of claim 13 and further comprising: a circular plug inserted into the aperture, the circular plug restoring a smooth face on a front and back surface of the currency.
 17. The novelty currency of claim 13 and further comprising: a stenciled message written on the currency.
 18. The novelty currency of claim 17 wherein the stenciled message provides a written message of a reduced inherent value.
 19. The novelty currency device of claim 13 and further comprising: a marketing or campaigning literature; wherein the currency is secured to the marketing or campaigning literature with a removable gum adhesive. 